Homemade Fresh Cheese Recipe

This soft, mild homemade cheese has a wide appeal among kids and adults. With the touch of a button, the Proofer makes the key 12-hr ripening period foolproof.

Simple fresh cheeses are not only delicious, they are great projects for anyone new to home cheese making. Part of the process involves maintaining a gallon of milk at the proper ripening temperature for 12-14 hours, a step which used to be quite challenging in a home environment. The Proofer’s accurate temperature control makes ripening easy as can be.

Fresh cheeses require a few supplies that are easy to find online and not too costly. You’ll need animal or vegetable rennet, cheese starter, and butter muslin (a finely woven cheesecloth). Optional items are cheese salt (a minimally-processed, iodine-free salt), and cheese moulds, which can help produce a lovely shape.

This recipe calls for a mesophilic starter, which is the general term for starter cultures that work at warm room temperature (70-100F / 21-38C). We recommend a starter culture that contains LLD (full name lactococcus lactis subspecies biovar diacetylactis). When LLD is included in a culture, it can produce the delicious, naturally-occurring flavour component diacetyl, which gives the cheese a rich, buttery quality. We’ve used Flora Danica for this recipe.

This cheese is good on pizza, as part of a burrito or taco filling, or served with crackers or fresh bread. For a lovely party-ready presentation, shape the cheese and coat the outside with a blend of herbs or pepper.

Yield: This recipe makes about 2 lbs 7 oz /1.1 kg of cheese.

Timing: It is convenient to start this recipe in the evening and allow the milk to ripen overnight. Drain the whey the next morning and put the cheese into jars or molds that same evening.

Ingredients

*Wir verwendeten für dieses Rezept Flora Danica.

Equipment: Brod & Taylor Folding Proofer, instant read thermometer, butter muslin, a lidded, stainless steel pot large enough to hold all the milk, a bowl large enough to hold all the milk, and some string. Cheese moulds are optional.

Note: When using the Folding Proofer to make cheese, be certain there is no water in the water tray. The water tray is not needed for making cheese. You can remove it from the Proofer, if you like, or leave it empty. But do not add water because it will affect temperature settings.

Get ready. All equipment should be clean and dry. Set up the Proofer with the rack in place and the thermostat at 22 ºC. Dilute the rennet by adding 3 drops of rennet to 1/3 cup / 80 ml water and stir to combine. Note: the recipe does not use all the rennet-water mixture.

Warm the milk to 30 ºC and add starter plus rennet. Pour the milk into a large stainless steel pot and slowly heat to 30 ºC. Stir often to prevent scorching the bottom. When the milk reaches 30 ºC, sprinkle the granules of starter over the surface of the milk and stir well to combine. Add 2 tsp of the rennet-water mixture to the milk and stir.

Ripen for 12-14 hours. Put the lid on the pot and place the pot in the Proofer, undisturbed, for 12 hours.

Check the curd. Open the Proofer and remove the lid from the pot of milk. Gently tip the pot a little to the side to see if the milk has set. When ready, it will have formed a yogurt-like curd. If the milk has not yet set, replace the lid and continue to ripen until set, checking every 30 minutes.

Drain the Whey. Drape a large piece (about 36″ / 90 cm square) of butter muslin over a bowl large enough to hold 4 Litres of milk. Spoon or gently pour the curd into the muslin-lined bowl.

Gather the muslin at the top, forming a bag, and tie the string around it. Once the bag is tied securely, form a noose with the other end of the string and hang the bag to drain for 6-12 hours.

Salt and chill the cheese. Scrape the cheese from the butter muslin into a bowl. (Butter muslin can be washed and re-used). Add cheese salt or sea salt to taste and mix gently to distribute. Spoon the cheese into mason jars or pack it into cheese moulds, cover and refrigerate. If using moulds, set them on a plate or sheet pan to catch drips. The cheese will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.